


Losers in Love

by BoyGirlBothNoneImTheUniverse



Series: The Love Club [1]
Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: AO3 1 Million, Angst, M/M, Unrequited Love, cursing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-15
Updated: 2014-02-15
Packaged: 2018-01-12 13:59:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,413
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1187868
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BoyGirlBothNoneImTheUniverse/pseuds/BoyGirlBothNoneImTheUniverse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Well, kind of," T.J. says, giving him a hesitant side look. "You look a little more like your boyfriend met a girl that he likes spending time with more than you."</p><p>And that's how Patrick Kane realizes he was completely and stupidly in love with Jonathan Toews.</p><p>Screw T.J. Oshie.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Losers in Love

Kaner wasn't sure how it came to this. The 2014 Olympics were amazing, an experience Kaner isn't going to forget anytime soon, but it was good to get back to Chicago, back to his team. It was also nice to get away from that constant feeling of discovery he had in Russia, but he chooses not to think about that. He's left most friendships behind; he's a little closer to Kesler this time around than last time and he's surprised at the friendship he spawned with T.J. Oshie, but he, nonetheless, cuts off a little on the keeping in touch part. He'll see Oshie soon enough anyway. He'll text Kesler when he can, their teams not meeting for the rest of the season.

They're playing the Penguins, which should prove to be exciting, and it's a little disappointing that they lose in a shootout. Kaner is bummed, playing good hockey yet still not producing, and he's ready to go back to Jonny's so they can have their obligatory losing session when Jonny suddenly says he can't come over.

"What? Why the fuck not?" Kaner mumbles, sifting through his bag for his left shoe.

"I'm hanging out with Sid," Jonny replies, Kaner freezing before the sentence was even finished.

It didn't make any sense. Jonny had never abandoned him after a loss, not when he could help it. Jonny didn't even go out with T.J. after a loss; and if he did, he took Kaner with him just so he wouldn't get super competitive and shout at him. Yet here he was, willingly hanging out with Sid after they lost a game that they definitely could've won.

Jonny is gone before Kaner can voice his displeasure and he's left with a twisting feeling in his stomach. He's not positive what the feeling is, what's tearing at him, but he knows that it can't be good.

They lose after three straight wins, which kind of puts a small cork in their hopeful attitude, when they finally play the Blues. The game is a pretty big shit show for both teams, the Blues pulling a good amount of penalties as the Hawks' powerplay continues not to produce. Jonny is in a shitty mood, and like every other loss they've had since the season restarted, he leaves without Kaner. Kaner knows he isn't going to see T.J., he wouldn't when he's that angry and disappointed with himself, so he goes to see him instead.

They don't talk about the game, most friends over team lines don't, and instead go out to a quiet bar that Kaner goes to when Erica comes to visit.

"Where's Jonny?" T.J. eventually asks, breaking their friendly silence.

Kaner scowls, taking a sip of his almost untouched drink and doesn't reply. He can feel T.J.'s gaze and is slightly surprised at his amused huff.

"Ah, I know that look. I had that look when Jonny started hanging out with you."

Kaner looks up at that. "What?"

"We were bros dude, no one can deny that. When he started hanging out with you, the two of you the faces of the franchise, his promises to constantly be in touch wavered. Jonny was my best friend, Kaner. He suddenly met you and it didn't quite feel like I was his anymore."

Kaner stares at T.J. in shock because he never knew this. He knew they were close, the stories you sometimes heard about the two in college were proof enough, but he hadn't known they were that intertwined.

"Wait, I have that face?" Kaner asked, confused.

"Well, kind of," T.J. says, giving him a hesitant side look. "You look a little more like your boyfriend met a girl that he likes spending time with more than you."

And that's how Patrick Kane realizes he was completely and stupidly in love with Jonathan Toews.

Screw T.J. Oshie.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Making it to the playoffs, but getting knocked out, sucked ass and Kaner couldn't even wallow with Jonny. Because Jonny is already gone. Gone off to spend part of his summer with Sid.

Kaner doesn't even try to hide his dissatisfaction from anyone he can get to listen to his angry ranting. He slightly surprised that after a few weeks in Buffalo he somehow ends up in Livonia in Ryan Kesler's guest room.

They go out a few nights and any real shenanigans are stopped when Kaner realizes how often they get recognized. Their staying in one night when Ryan's computer pings and Kaner watches him scramble from the couch to where his laptop is open from earlier that morning.

"Alex! Hey!" Ryan says, a grin stretching across his face.

Alexandre Burrows' voice drifts from the computer and Kaner watches in amusement as Ryan falls all over himself to gush at him. It only takes a little over a minute of the two conversing for Kaner to realize that Ryan must be dating him. He grins and waits until Ryan is absorbed in the conversation before he leaps over to him, launching himself on top of him. He hears a shocked curse and gasp come from Burrows and laughs when Ryan repeats the sentiment, only in English this time.

"Kaner, you fat fuck, get off of me!" Ryan hisses, choking on angry laughter.

"You gonna introduce me, Ry?" Kaner asks, sticking his head up to try and get a look at Burrows.

"Fuck off, Kaner, you already know him," Ryan replies, finally uncurling Kaner's fingers from his arms. He's quick enough that Kaner doesn't have time to retaliate before he's over Ryan's shoulder and dropped back onto the couch. Ryan kicks his side and laughs all the way back to his computer. He's smiling at Burrows, his grin wide and happy, and Kaner wishes that he had someone to look at him like that. The call is cut off a few minutes later, Burrows' quiet voice saying a sweet sounding goodbye to Ryan, and Ryan just stares longingly at what must be a blank screen.

"Oh my God, you'll see your boyfriend soon enough," Kaner says, rolling his eyes.

Ryan jumps, which Kaner doesn't expect, and stares wide-eyed like he was caught doing something wrong. "W-What?"

Kaner raises an eyebrow and replies, "You know it's obvious right? How you look at him? I mean," Kaner stops talking and sits up quickly when Ryan's face contorts into a familiar face.

"Oh shit," Kaner says, "you didn't know."

Ryan looks up at him from the floor with a look of astonished horror painting his face.

"Oh fuck," he says.

"Oops," Kaner replies, wincing.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kaner has the pleasure of listening to Ryan's panicked feelings for another week before he finally adds his number to his most used contacts and heads back to Buffalo. Ryan texts him nonstop for the first couple days before he slowly starts to calm down, realization that no one else in his life had yet to come to any realization of his feelings for his teammate.

Kaner thinks they all must be blind, but then he remembers his own panicking over Jonny and he chooses not to push his luck.

He's only in Buffalo for a few more days before Tyler Seguin shows up on his doorstep.

"Hey dude," Kaner says, hugging Tyler and letting him in. He let's Tyler stay in one of his many extra rooms and doesn't comment on the fact that Tyler had bags with him, which means he was going somewhere before he showed up here.

With a couple of drinks shared between the two (in his house, Kaner, and Tyler for that matter, don't need the media on their backs at the moment), Tyler spills all about his panicked issues.

He apparently spent a couple weeks in Dallas, having gone farther than the Hawks went in the series, but were ultimately knocked out. He spent a little bit longer spending time with his teammates before they all headed home. He was hanging out with Jamie, who Kaner was assured was in fact his captain Jamie Benn, when things escalated.

Too many self-loathing drinks later and the two spent a sloppy, drunk, one night stand together. Jamie headed home with his brother the next day and Tyler was left with a hangover and the inability to avoid his feelings any longer. He'd been planning on buying a plane ticket home when he heard news of Kaner being spotted in Buffalo and decided on a different destination.

"You have to help me," Tyler says, setting his drink down and burying his hands into his hair. "What am I going to do?"

"I should start a club," Kaner mutters, before setting his own drink down and leaning back against the couch cushions. "I can't tell you what to do, Tyler."

Tyler is slowly becoming more and more desperate when Kaner's phone goes off. Tyler picks it up before Kaner can stop him and Tyler's wining cries are suddenly stopping as his eyes scan over the text Kaner has just received.

"Ryan Kesler texts you?" Tyler finally asks, ignoring Kaner's attempts to get his phone back.

"Tyler, dude, hand it over," Kaner grumbles, limbs tangling as he fails to get it back.

His phone starts ringing and Tyler answers it before Kaner can even get one word out.

"Kaner," Ryan's voice hisses from his speakers, "why didn't you answer me? Alex wants to come and visit and I don't know what I'm fucking doing."

"Alex?" Tyler asks, turning the speaker phone on so Ryan would be able to hear both him and Kaner.

"What? Fuck, who is this?"

"It's Tyler Seguin," Kaner says, growling when Tyler shoves his hand into Kaner's face.

"Who's Alex? Like Edler?" Tyler asks, frowning.

"Burrows," Kaner mutters through the hand over his mouth, tearing at Tyler's arm, still trying to get his phone back.

"Oh," Tyler says, blinking. "Wait, do you like him?"

Ryan stutters for a moment, his voice shocked and hesitant, but no reply comes from him.

"The meeting of losers in love can now commence," Kaner says sarcastically, finally gripping his phone and tearing it out of Tyler's hand.

"Shut up, Kaner," Ryan shouts over the phone.

"I resent being called a loser," Tyler says, frowning.

"Yeah, well, eat me," Kaner replies, angry over nothing.

And that's how the Losers in Love officially came to be a thing.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This summer has been the weirdest of Kaner's entire life and it's still not over.

With a week left before Kaner needs to head back to Chicago for training camp, he's had more interaction with Ryan Kesler and Tyler Seguin than he ever wished for or wanted.

Alex's visit to Ryan's hometown was uneventful and Alex left happy and none the wiser of Ryan's feelings for him. Tyler headed home after four days of spending time with Kaner and frequent calls from Ryan. With a new contact in his phone, he left with the promise of future pity sessions, only this time for all three of them and not just him. Kaner wants to point out that neither Tyler nor Ryan even asked him if he was pining for anybody, but when Tyler wishes him luck with Jonny and Ryan doesn't say anything, he figures he's really fooling nobody and just goes with it.

He spends his last few days with his family, goodbyes still a little teary, before he's in Chicago and settling back into his apartment.

He hasn't really heard from Jonny over the summer, a text here or there saying he's having fun hanging out with Sidney Crosby, but nothing that Kaner actually wanted to hear about.

He goes over to Sharpy's house for dinner with a few of the other guys who are already back in Chicago and is shocked to see Jonny there. Kaner had been under the impression that Jonny wasn't going to be back in Chicago for another day or two. Duncs gives him a weird look when he says this and he tells Kaner that Jonny had actually gotten here before Kaner.

While the guys are hanging out in Sharpy's living room, Abby having said hello and then left with the kids to go spend some time with the wives and girlfriends she had become friends with, Kaner slips upstairs and goes to the guest room he's slept in a time or two.

The phone only rings for a moment or two before Ryan answers his call.

"Kaner? What's up? I thought you were going to some team dinner or something?"

"Yeah, yeah I was. Hey, add Tyler to the call," Kaner says, sitting down on the bed with a heavy sigh.

With a quick call to Tyler, still in Brampton, Kaner let's his frustrations out.

"He didn't even tell me! He doesn't talk to me, ignores all of my calls, and then he doesn't even consider it important enough for me to know he's back in Chicago. We've always come back on the same day. He'd call me at least once a week, and now? Now he hasn't even called me once. I just got texts of how much fun he's having with fucking Crosby and I just..." Kaner trails off, his anger dissipating and leaving a sad, torn up hole in his chest.

Tyler and Ryan are both silent, letting Kaner take a deep breath to calm himself.

"I feel like a teenager again," Kaner mutters, refusing to let his frustration turn to tears.

"Jamie says it was a mistake," Tyler says after a moment. "I wasn't going to tell you guys, just because neither of you need to hear me complain more, but I'm telling you now because I know how you feel."

"Alex met a girl," Ryan says, cutting through the already depressed silence that Tyler's confession left. "She's sweet and kind and hates interrupting the time Alex spends with me. She thinks I'm a great friend to Alex and keeps asking me for advice on how to make Alex happy."

"Ryan," Kaner mutters, uncertain with how to deal with all of their shared emotions.

"I told her everything I could," Ryan chokes out. "I want him to be happy."

Kaner bites his lip and listens to Tyler console Ryan over the phone. When he leaves Sharpy's and heads home without talking to Jonny once, he cries for himself and for both of his friends.

After all, what else could he do? He was just a loser in love.

**Author's Note:**

> THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO HAVE A HAPPY ENDING. EVERYONE WAS SUPPOSED TO CRY AND THEN SHARE LOVE. INSTEAD THEY'VE ALL DIED INSIDE WITH THEIR LOVES NONE THE WISER.  
> THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE FUNNY.


End file.
